Will not be silenced by terrorism: Shashi Tharoor as his delegation heads to US

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, spearheading an all-party parliamentary team under Operation Sindoor to five nations—namely the United States, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia—left Delhi in the early hours of Saturday, asserting that India would not be subdued by terrorism.

“We need to speak up for our country, for our response, and to give the world the message that we will not be silenced by terrorism,” Tharoor said at the Delhi airport, ahead of his departure. “We don’t want the world to look away either. We don’t want indifference to triumph over the truth. It’s a mission of peace, a mission of hope,” he added.

Earlier, talking ahead of his departure, he said, “It’s good to have everyone on the same page, and that’s what the government’s briefing was all about. We are prepared, everyone understands the situation, and we are heading in that spirit. We will speak with one voice.”

The delegation also includes BJP MPs Tejasvi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita and Shashank Mani Tripathi, LJP (Ram Vilas)’s Shambhavi Choudhary, TDP’s GM Harish Balayogi, Shiv Sena’s Milind Deora, JMM’s Sarfaraz Ahmad, and former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

The group, comprising individuals from various political backgrounds, will initially pass through New York, where they are set to tour the 9/11 Memorial. Describing the stop as symbolic, Tharoor noted it would “remind the world that we, like those they are considering, have also been victims of terror attacks”.

After New York, the team will head to Georgetown in Guyana to participate in the Independence Day celebrations and engage with government leaders.

In an unexpected display of camaraderie, images from the Delhi airport depicted Tharoor and BJP MP Tejasvi Surya holding hands and grinning as they got ready to board their flight. The action occurred despite the Congress opposing Tharoor’s appointment as delegation leader – a choice made by the government rather than the party.